The picture above was taken by Australian wedding photographer Thomas Stewart and shows a groom struggling to see his bride as guests block the aisle to take their pictures. The image and Thomas' furious comments prompted much debate on the issue of guests and their cameras at weddings.
Let me say from the outset that from the picture it looks like a very cluttered aisle area which is asking for trouble with or without the cameras. I'd add that, as Thomas would have wanted to capture this very important moment he should have made sure that nothing got in his way. I wonder if he told the guests not to take photographs as it is unlikely that three or more would ignore him.
There is nothing new about wedding photographers being hindered by guests with their own cameras. When I started shooting weddings the issue was with keen amateurs with cameras like the Canon T90 who would brazenly take pictures after I had carefully posed the subjects. This person would also stalk me for the entirety of the wedding, asking me questions about the grain structure of Fuji Neopan film. A very firm tone was needed to ensure that I could do my work in peace and produce the pictures that the client had paid for. I also had to contend with large numbers of compact camera users who could whip out a camera and ruin my shot in the blink of an eye. I soon learned that I needed to be quite assertive and insist that they wait until I had taken my photographs before they took theirs, this worked generally well apart from the occasional bellicose male who would threatened to insert my camera into a place not covered by insurance if I got in the way of his artistic efforts.
By around 2005 the cameraphone was everywhere and people were now in the habit of photographing and videoing everything, no surprise that they wanted to take pictures at the wedding of their beloved friend or relative with no regard for etiquette as defined by the likes of me. It was no fun to carefully pose your Bride and then watch her become googly eyed as the smartphone army swooped. Having a cameraphone at a wedding meant that you didn't have to buy or wait to see the official pictures and you could have that blurry picture of the kiss at the altar on Facebook before the Pastor cleared his throat. You certainly didn't have to do those rather old fashioned things called experiencing, enjoying and remembering.
With so many excited guests armed with cameraphones and a photographer employed to produce great photographs, there are bound to be occasional difficulties so here are some ideas to reduce the stress on both sides.
1. A contract that states that the Bride & Groom will ask guests to refrain from taking pictures until the photographer has taken his/hers
2. Enlist a senior/authoritative member of the wedding party to keep guests at bay.
3. Ask the wedding officials, DJ's etc to announce the photography rules.
4. Find an area away from the guests to take the most important photographs.
5. Respectfully tell the guests that they are welcome to take pictures after the photographer has taken theirs.
6. Tell the guests that they will be able to see the professional pictures online. ( after the Bride & Groom have received theirs)
7. Don't come across as a precious artiste and use humour to keep the guests onside as irate guests don't photograph well.
Let me say from the outset that from the picture it looks like a very cluttered aisle area which is asking for trouble with or without the cameras. I'd add that, as Thomas would have wanted to capture this very important moment he should have made sure that nothing got in his way. I wonder if he told the guests not to take photographs as it is unlikely that three or more would ignore him.
There is nothing new about wedding photographers being hindered by guests with their own cameras. When I started shooting weddings the issue was with keen amateurs with cameras like the Canon T90 who would brazenly take pictures after I had carefully posed the subjects. This person would also stalk me for the entirety of the wedding, asking me questions about the grain structure of Fuji Neopan film. A very firm tone was needed to ensure that I could do my work in peace and produce the pictures that the client had paid for. I also had to contend with large numbers of compact camera users who could whip out a camera and ruin my shot in the blink of an eye. I soon learned that I needed to be quite assertive and insist that they wait until I had taken my photographs before they took theirs, this worked generally well apart from the occasional bellicose male who would threatened to insert my camera into a place not covered by insurance if I got in the way of his artistic efforts.
By around 2005 the cameraphone was everywhere and people were now in the habit of photographing and videoing everything, no surprise that they wanted to take pictures at the wedding of their beloved friend or relative with no regard for etiquette as defined by the likes of me. It was no fun to carefully pose your Bride and then watch her become googly eyed as the smartphone army swooped. Having a cameraphone at a wedding meant that you didn't have to buy or wait to see the official pictures and you could have that blurry picture of the kiss at the altar on Facebook before the Pastor cleared his throat. You certainly didn't have to do those rather old fashioned things called experiencing, enjoying and remembering.
With so many excited guests armed with cameraphones and a photographer employed to produce great photographs, there are bound to be occasional difficulties so here are some ideas to reduce the stress on both sides.
1. A contract that states that the Bride & Groom will ask guests to refrain from taking pictures until the photographer has taken his/hers
2. Enlist a senior/authoritative member of the wedding party to keep guests at bay.
3. Ask the wedding officials, DJ's etc to announce the photography rules.
4. Find an area away from the guests to take the most important photographs.
5. Respectfully tell the guests that they are welcome to take pictures after the photographer has taken theirs.
6. Tell the guests that they will be able to see the professional pictures online. ( after the Bride & Groom have received theirs)
7. Don't come across as a precious artiste and use humour to keep the guests onside as irate guests don't photograph well.
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